To me, the Internet as we know it is dead. I'm trying to build a new, better "internet". Don't know how, yet, but I have a concept of a plan.

My kids are getting old enough to get their own computers. I got them two mini-PC's, put Mint on them, and for now a few DOS games. They are at the age where they still sound out everything they read or write, but it won't take long before they'd like to go online. For now, though, they are happy with some of the games I used to play. Right now it's Duck Tales, Dynablaster and Grand Prix Circuit, but I hope to introduce them to Sierra and Lucasarts adventures later, and Microprose strategies even later.

But I digress. I don't want to let them onto the Internet, even if I disable access to some sites (they're bound to find a way around). Instead, I'd like to self-host my own Internet. It would be largely static, with entire downloaded Web sites, and I'm currently compiling a list of what I'd give them. I'm also thinking of curating a selection of news articles, which I'd grab and present to them via my own server. As time goes by, I'd slowly immerse them in more, but my goal is to grow them to be discerning young adults, who'd know better what to believe and what to share than my generation did.

Other parents in my kids' school have the same concerns. I was talking to some about my idea, and they'd like to join. Some of them are far more knowledgeable than me in the technical aspects of this undertaking (I'm still using a LAMP stack for all my needs). At the end, we may end up with a local "internet", with its own dedicated message board, perhaps some social pages, and relatively harmless content. If we had this idea, you can bet that thousands of other communities already had a similar idea. I fully expect the human internet to eventually fragment into tiny local internets, and the traditional internet becoming a giant circle-jerk of AI's in circular conversation.